A Mono developer responds to a request for "a calm presentation of why Mono is desirable, why it is not a threat, and why it should be included in Ubuntu by default" answering the three questions individually, then attempting to address general anti-Mono sentiment.
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Member since:2006-04-22
You've made this exact point before and both times I felt like it was a good point. However I realize that my reaction to your comment assumes that the mono advocates are nothing more than a vocal minority. It is always important to quantify the interested by figuring out the total number of interested individuals versus the number specifically advocating for mono's inclusions. My intuition tells me this would be a *very* small yet vocal minority but until that assessment is done, who knows. Maybe people who don't want mono are a very small vocal minority? Then maybe those people (including me) should just accept defeat and shut up.
Member since:2007-06-28
the truth is, the mono issue is off most users' radar completely. both sides of the issue are small and vocal minorities. but, i tend to err on the side of caution.
i refuse to 'just accept defeat'. mostly because it's more effective to just pack up and pick another distro.
Member since:2005-07-06
The main argument is that there are some very nice apps written against mono, and by not including mono you cannot include those apps and arguably get a lesser desktop experience. If this is "horrible" or not is of course up for debate.
I know I would be less happy with my Linux desktop if I couldn't have Gnome-Do for example.
Member since:2007-06-28
I know I would be less happy with my Linux desktop if I couldn't have Gnome-Do for example.
well, gnome-do isn't part of the default install of any major distro. but, of course, you can still install it. i'm not advocating a necessary removal of mono from repositories... just from default install. if you want to install a mono app, fine. mono can be pulled in as a dependency.
the only two apps that currently are being used to justify mono in a default install of many distros are f-spot and tomboy. these two apps are not critical apps, and have perfectly acceptable alternatives.
tomboy and f-spot are fairly niche applications, and their inclusion absolutely does NOT justify including such controversial software as a default. and now with the emergence of gnote, there really is no excuse.
Member since:
2007-06-28
it would make nearly everybody happy if mono and mono apps just weren't part of a default install. given the controversy, i can't imagine why that would be such a horrible thing.